Good morning and welcome!
Take your time, listen to your doctors, and very best wishes in your recovery and fitness goals. You are already a hero.
(My god this group is humbling!)
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Well I’m never going to complain about 9-Hammers again! Your story is amazing and I’m sure you will achieve this goal. What a great way to turn a tragic disease into such a positive life experience. We can all learn something from this when facing our trivial first world problems!
In response to your concern over power, make sure you have optimal gearing on your bike. A modern compact chainset will give you a 1:1 ratio, but don’t be afraid to go even lower. Gravel bike gearing might help you to maintain a more optimal cadence and stop you going into the red on the steeper pitches. It might seem counter-intuitive, but lower gearing will almost certainly make you climb faster.
Anyway I’m looking forward to seeing you complete this amazing challenge!
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I’ve got some training in since I first posted this declaration of intent. I was just starting a 12 week all around plan for beginners with strength and yoga and mental training, which was the reason I posted my goal in the first place (because it told me to “socialize” it). My half-monty results half way through the plan showed a 11% gain for FTP and MAP. I was stoked. Those numbers actually dropped when I did the FF at the end of the plan. I was mildly disappointed but there were improvements from the beginning.
I immediately started the mountainous/fondo program with strength and yoga. Last Saturday, I completed the half-monty at 8 weeks in. I gained a 21% improvement in both FTP and MAP. I was cautiously optimistic. On Monday, the plan had me doing Nine Hammers. I figured if the new numbers are wrong, then Nine Hammers will show me out. Except for the 2nd minute in the 9th hammer, I completed the workout. I’d say the improvements are real. Pretty excited. I’ll finish this plan May 20. Then I’ll start the GG200 plan to lead in to my trip which starts in Bourg Saint Maurice on August 21, 2022.
The trip: what started as a trip to the Stelvio has expanded into a very ambitious multi-day mountainous trip that includes the Col de l’iseran, Col du Galibier, Alpe D’Huez, Col D’Izoard, Sestriere, Stevio (both sides), Mortirolo and Gavia, plus some other rollers.
I know it’s going to be suffering but these workouts are giving me the evidence, motivation and confidence to believe in the work I’m putting in.
David
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What an inspirational and encouraging update, David! Your courage and determination are incredible.
And the good news is that with today’s news that Wahoo acquired RGT, you can actually “train” up the Stelvio using the RGT app and your SYSTM account.
Keep us posted.
Rob
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Definitely not Mike.
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36 hours straight over the Alps is technically “multi-day”.
You may think that, but that’s purely because of the Sufferfest time warp. In reality only 2 hours have passed, and you still have 12 cols to get through.
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Hi.
Final report: I did it. Time to close this chapter.
In the last week August, on a custom trip with Grand Tours Project, with a support van and one support cyclist and a one friend riding with me, we did the following:
Day 1: Col de L’Iseran
Day 2: Col du Telegraphe, Col du Galibier, Alpe d’Huez
Day 3: Col d’Izoard, Sestriere
Day 4: Rest
Day 5: Como/Muro di Sormano, Madonna di Ghisallo
Day 6: Passo dello Stelvio - from Bormio and Prato
For me, I feel like I closed a chapter that I started 12 years ago on the Stelvio. Back then, I knew something was wrong with me. Hyperventilating. Oxygen-starved. Weak muscles. Light-headed. Blacking out. Stopping at every tornante. Getting up the mountain one hairpin at a time. Cursing myself. Hating myself. Wondering what’s wrong with me. For twelve years I’ve lived with the Stelvio as an ongoing open chapter in my life. It’s when I mark the beginning of being sick.
I had unfinished business with the Stelvio. The last thing I read to myself before I went into surgery for a double lung transplant on the 14th February 2020 was this passage from The Rider by Tim Krabbe:
“A faux plat going down, the pace picks up right away. I spin along in low gear. My lungs unfold, the air of the canyon blows through my hair, the smell of balsam from other legs spatters off their spokes and into my nostrils. I slide in among the wheels, back and forth, in the continuously shifting braid of the peloton. I’m home again.”
The second time I did it, I felt home again. Yeah, the Stelvio is hard. But it was just a bike ride. A really long one. And so beautiful. I enjoyed every blessed second of it.
Sometimes the world as seen from the seat of bicycle seems just about perfect. I felt that again.
Thank you Sufferfest.
David
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There are so many reasons to ride, and we all have our own, but this is as good as it gets.
Congratulations, on getting well, on getting up the mountain, and on no doubt pushing for the next one. Amazing, amazing effort, truly.
L
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That’s beautiful! Way to go!!
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Thank you for sharing. I simply can’t think of any other words.
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I can. Holy $&@# @David_Terry. What a story. And I couldn’t be more jealous of your route(s). 
That said was going to post that I smoked my first century today, but dang man…
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Incredible! Well done on your achievement and thank you for inspiring us mere mortals! Like others, a bit lost for words …
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I read @David_Terry’s post on Saturday before doing my first century. During the ride when I was going into the wind in the pouring rain I kept thinking that this is nothing compared to what @Daid_Terry went through. What an inspiring message. Thank you for posting!
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Gads! I just had wicked cold! 
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